10 Now He was teaching in one of the synagogues on the Sabbath. 11 And behold, there was a woman who had a spirit of infirmity eighteen years, and was bent over and could in no way raise herself up. 12 But when Jesus saw her, He called her to Him and said to her, “Woman, you are loosed from your infirmity.” 13 And He laid His hands on her, and immediately she was made straight, and glorified God. 14 But the ruler of the synagogue answered with indignation, because Jesus had healed on the Sabbath; and he said to the crowd, “There are six days on which men ought to work; therefore come and be healed on them, and not on the Sabbath day.” 15 The Lord then answered him and said, “Hypocrite! Does not each one of you on the Sabbath loose his ox or donkey from the stall, and lead it away to water it? 16 So ought not this woman, being a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan has bound—think of it—for eighteen years, be loosed from this bond on the Sabbath?” 17 And when He said these things, all His adversaries were put to shame; and all the multitude rejoiced for all the glorious things that were done by Him.
In verses 10-17, Jesus healed a crippled woman who had been ill for 18 years. The ruler of the synagogue objected to Jesus’ healing on the Sabbath. Jesus countered by citing precedents for doing good on the Sabbath.
13:10
Now He was teaching in one of the synagogues on the Sabbath.
Jesus taught in a synagogue on a Sabbath. This occasion is the last recorded time He taught in a synagogue.
13:11
And behold, there was a woman who had a spirit of infirmity eighteen years, and was bent over and could in no way raise herself up.
While teaching, Jesus observed a woman who’d had an infirmity for 18 years. It was so bad that she could not raise herself vertically.
13:12-13
But when Jesus saw her, He called her to Him and said to her, “Woman, you are loosed from your infirmity.” 13 And He laid His hands on her, and immediately she was made straight, and glorified God.
Jesus took the initiative to heal the woman. He immediately healed the woman with the infirmity by pronouncing her healed. Her long ordeal was over. Her healing was immediate. She immediately stood up straight and glorified God for healing her.
13:14
But the ruler of the synagogue answered with indignation, because Jesus had healed on the Sabbath; and he said to the crowd, “There are six days on which men ought to work; therefore come and be healed on them, and not on the Sabbath day.”
The ruler of the synagogue became indignant because Jesus healed the woman on the Sabbath. For him, Jesus violated the fourth commandment (Ex 20:8-10) by working on the Sabbath.
13:15
The Lord then answered him and said, “Hypocrite! Does not each one of you on the Sabbath loose his ox or donkey from the stall, and lead it away to water it?
In answer to the ruler of the synagogue and anyone like him (“hypocrites” is in the plural), Jesus referred to the practice of Jews to do good things on the Sabbath. They allowed their oxen and donkeys to go to a watering stall on the Sabbath. They were hypocrites if they allowed certain things and not others on the Sabbath.
13:16
So ought not this woman, being a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan has bound—think of it—for eighteen years, be loosed from this bond on the Sabbath?”
In defense of healing the woman, Jesus drew the inference from the Jewish practice of doing certain things on the Sabbath. The woman’s relationship to Abraham made her healing on the Sabbath appropriate. Jesus argued that His act of healing did not violate the Sabbath but accorded with its spirit.
13:17
And when He said these things, all His adversaries were put to shame; and all the multitude rejoiced for all the glorious things that were done by Him.
Jesus’ adversaries were shamed by His argument, but the multitude in the synagogue rejoiced over His miracle.
PRINCIPLE:
There is a tendency to allow custom, rather than Scripture, to dictate the believer’s life.
APPLICATION:
Jesus could have healed the woman of our passage on any day other than the Sabbath, but He chose the Sabbath to establish the principle of liberty. Jesus released the woman from bondage to her infirmity. If God allows the benefit of a lesser creature, such as an animal, on the Sabbath, would He not make provision for the greater creature, a woman? We do not treat animals better than people. Jesus argued from the lesser to the greater.
